Trip Information
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By coach with allocated seating
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Dover - Calais
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Optional at extra cost on-board ship
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Ostend Hotel
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Continental breakfast
Itinerary
Depart from your allocated local pick-up point and meet your experienced Vista coach driver. Sit back and relax as we travel to Dover, making comfort stops en route.
On arrival at Dover, we board the Dover–Calais ferry for our channel crossing.
- Typical sailing times: 10:00 / 12:00 / 14:00 hrs (subject to confirmation)
- Crossing duration: Approximately 90 minutes
- Facilities on board:
Comfortable lounges, restaurants and cafés serving hot and cold meals (at extra cost), duty-free shopping, and observation decks offering views of the White Cliffs and the French coastline.
After disembarkation in Calais, we rejoin our coach and travel through northern France towards Ostend, with an approximate journey time of 2½ to 3 hours (depending on traffic).
Check in to the Ostend Hotel, your base for the next three nights.
Evening at leisure to enjoy Ostend’s seaside promenade, cafés, and local restaurants.
After a Continental breakfast at the hotel, we board the coach for a full-day guided tour exploring the poignant World War One battlefields of Ypres and surrounding areas.
Your knowledgeable on-board guide will bring history to life with insightful commentary and visits to key sites including:
- The Ypres Salient – the front-line area that witnessed some of the fiercest fighting of the Great War.
- Tyne Cot Cemetery – the largest Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in the world.
- Langemark German Cemetery – resting place of more than 44,000 German soldiers.
- Passchendaele Memorial Museum – a powerful exhibition commemorating the Battle of Passchendaele.
- Diksmuide Trench of Death – preserved trench system giving a vivid impression of trench warfare conditions.
There will be time for lunch at own expense in Ypres or at a local café en route.
Return to Ostend in the late afternoon with the evening free to relax or explore the town’s seafront restaurants.
After an early breakfast, we travel once more to Ypres to take part in the Remembrance Day commemorations.
Arrive in Ypres in time for the 11:00 hrs local remembrance service at the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, one of the most moving and symbolic sites of the Great War. The ceremony honours all those who lost their lives and have no known grave.
Spend the rest of the day in Ypres – time to explore at leisure:
- Visit the In Flanders Fields Museum inside the Cloth Hall
- Walk around the restored town centre
- Enjoy lunch in one of Ypres’ charming cafés or brasseries (own expense)
Return to Ostend in the evening.
After breakfast, check out of the Ostend Hotel and rejoin the coach with your luggage.
We travel towards Calais, stopping en route for shopping at Pidou Wine Market, an excellent opportunity to stock up on wines, beers, and regional specialties.
We then board the Calais–Dover ferry for our return crossing to the UK, once again with meals and refreshments available on board (at extra cost).
After arrival in Dover, continue by coach to your original drop-off points, making comfort stops en route.
Approximate arrival home in the evening.
